


Bone and Lamplight blurbs

by digitalFlush



Category: Houses of Bone and Lamplight, RPG - Fandom, homebrew - Fandom
Genre: Original Characters - Freeform, Original Story - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-08
Updated: 2016-07-22
Packaged: 2018-05-19 01:22:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5950768
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/digitalFlush/pseuds/digitalFlush
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>These are just small stories written for an RPG game. Each chapter is a new story.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Clean up

**Author's Note:**

> This is a short from our most recent game and follows a warlock, covering up a magical throw down they just had in a night club.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a short from our most recent game and follows a warlock, covering up a magical throw down they just had in a night club.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is Canon! Bitches love canon!

William moved solemnly but quickly. The death was behind him. Here and now was his turn to take point. Using his shirt to cover his hand and leave no prints he pulled at wires and frayed them, he arranged the scene to look more of a barroom brawl gone off kilter than a fight of magic proportions. He would have to worry about patrons later.

 

Police sirens wailed down the street, skidding into park as officers charged out, hands ready to un holster their guns. William sighed and shook his head.

 

Tucking in his shirt, straightening his tie, fixing his hair, William stepped out the club entrance. He raised his arms slowly, badge in hand. "Hello, Officers. Figured you'd be stopping by."

 

"What the hell is going on here? Who are you?"

William's badge read his name as well as the seal of some agency. BATFE? The lead officer inspected it closer. "What the hell is a BATFE." He demanded.

"Well maybe if you did your homework, we wouldn't be here, would we?" William relaxed and put his hands in his pockets.

"We? Who the hell are you?!" The officer was pissed that something like this was happening under his nose.

 

"We've been keeping an eye here for a while. Seems this place has flown pretty far under your radar." William adjusted his sunglasses.  
"We may not be the big dogs of the FBI but I'll be damned if we didn't do our jobs."

The officer began to speak but was cut off by William holding up his hand. "Officer," he checked the name tag "Bower? Officer Bower if you would refrain from questions. Most of this stuff is above your pay grade so excuse any holes here."

 

Officer Bower was red with anger but he let William continue. William turned up his charm and smirked. He looked like an asshole straight out of a crime drama with those shades and that grin. "We represent the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, since you apparently had no idea."

 

"There was a lead that brought us to this site. The scene is not pretty." He shook his head. "Poor kids."

"Kids!" Bower was shaking. "This is a fucking night club!!!"

William shook his head. "Sorry sir but I can't let you in. They're my witnesses and material in this case."

"What case? There's no case for you here just a Nightclub!" Bower pushed him aside. "Unless you have a signed issue from a judge I'm going in there!"

 

William huffed and went to catch up. "Sir! Sir, I can't let you do that!" He put a hand on the door.

"You have to understand. If I let you in here both of us loose our jobs. Maybe worse." He kept his firm grip on the handle.

"Out of the way, ya damn agent." Bower growled.

Hands raised, William backed off. "I warned you." He said in a mocking tone.

Bower opened the door, hand on his holster. "NYPD! Is anyone in here?"

 

Before him lay everyone passed out in an absolutely wrecked club. Three young adults stood huddled together near a speaker and some loose wires, a pile of ash not 10 feet away. William followed him inside, shaking his head.

"Officer, welcome to the last party on this block. Someone working here has been playing with nasty stuff. Found the crowd like this. The kids could tell you more but like I said. This is my case. Not yours."

"Like hell." Bower sneered. "Young lady," he said to the brunette who looked surprisingly like his granddaughter, only much older. "What happened here?"

Conner, realizing she was being questioned, glanced at William and her cohorts. "Me?"

"Yes. You. What happened here." Bower's voice was gruff and angry but he was trying at least.

 

"Well..." William nodded to the bar subtly. "The bartender. He uh...well I'm not sure what happened but he kept giving out these funny looking drinks. We didn't take any. My cousin here is too young to drink and we didn't need him in such an unfamiliar place with intoxicated girls."

Conner was fumbling a bit. Though it added to the charade of being shaken and confused it made her feel absolutely out of control.

"Well, everyone was getting drinks. Hell, even the bouncers joined in. The party really took off but it wasn't right. Something in those drinks I guess I- I don't know!" Conner was flustered and honestly scared of what this man would find out. Back up stood by outside waiting to hear back.

 

William stepped in and put a hand on her shoulder. "It's alright. Thank you. You don't have to relive it." He said gently. Turning to Eva, "you're sure it was something in the drinks?"

Eva nodded. "Yeah, absolutely. Everything was fine until those bottles came out. Everything went mad after that though."

"Mad." William nodded. "Like you told me earlier."

Eva nodded, eager to help. "Well, yeah. Do I need to repeat that spiel for the officer?"

William shrugged. "I got the story from you. He's not on the case really. Suppose it's up to your discretion."

 

Eva frowned. "I don't want to talk about it. It was crazy..."

 

Bower was calming down. They were right, the scene was crazy looking. He had so many questions, but it seemed clear this man couldn't or didn't want to answer them.

William eyed the cop from behind his shades. "Sir, if you'll excuse me I have a few more questions to run by these kids back in my office. And if you'd be so kind as to get out of my scene that would be extremely helpful."

Bower was pissed again but marched out after only a quick, suspicious glare to William. "Fine, Mr. Murdoc. Fine. But mark my words, your superiors will be hearing about your conduct." He said, slamming the door shut and closing them in.

Conner let out a sigh as William relaxed a little. Kai shook his head. "You'd think they'd send someone like dad for this stuff."

Will smirked. "Not everywhere is like that Kai. But you're right."

 

The cars left, one by one back to their routes.


	2. The Little Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Another William blurb, because conspiracy and mystery are cool.

"No," Click! "No," Click! "No," Click!

An exhausted looking lawyer sat on his apartment couch in the dark, laptop screen the only light highlighting his bagged eyes. He knew he should turn another light on but he was in a zone, and to break this concentration would mean the loss of interest in his search.

To the casual eye, he appeared to be working still, his suit and- though a bit disheveled- dress shirt spoke of a well paying job and a decent love of it.

But it was nearing 3 in the morning now and here he was still clicking and quickly moving to the next link.

Reddit boards. The lawyer rubbed his eyes with two fingers. What a pain in the ass to sift through all these damn boards. But it would be worth it, he reminded himself. A small gesture would be worth it.

"Aha!" He shouted to the screen as he finally found the one he needed; a deep web board that spoke of incidents and mystery. Each user posting here was extremely cautious of what information was used on their profile and how many servers they routed through.

"Perfect." William said, grinning to himself as he laid the bait.

First, the generic profile. A picture of Neo from the Matrix seemed an appropriate icon for the situation. 'Name? Unimportant. Age? Above your pay grade.' He chuckled at his joke.

Step two. Claim one of the events. One person wrote of seeing some "weird shit" in London. Something involving gas mains and terrorists.

William began to type his reply. 'Have you heard about the things going down in New York? Same M.O!! You don't think it's the same terrorists???'

Send.

"Now we wait." He sat back and closed his eyes, after an hour he refreshed the feed to reveal a large paragraph from the original poster. 'No way. But you may have a point...'

Someone new joined in. 'Shit, you don't think that this is a plot???'

Another user piped up. 'It's all the same style! These guys are everywhere!'

One after another, people began to flood the feed and share stories of these terrorists who were in so many major cities and obviously had a man on the government with access to gas mains for bombs.

The story began to spiral out of control in the next day, every now and then William would check the feed and chuckle.

It was so nice to find these little ways to thank the Man who allowed him to live the way he did.


	3. Nightmares

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Conner has a bad dream.

Moonlight streamed through plastic blinds that had forgotten to be closed. In the center of the room, a full-sized four poster bed with a thick, elegant bedspread that covered a small, sleeping brunette. Conner was sleeping restlessly in her REM stage, twitching and muttering.

With a start and in a cold sweat, Conner sat up. Breathing heavily, she glanced to the window and saw the full moon just rising. She hadn't slept long before the nightmares had come back. Flicking on the lamp beside her bed to ward off the remnants of the dream she hugged her knees to her chest. What was haunting her? She had to focus.

Closing her eyes again, she saw him. The small child, half decomposed from the years, staring up at her, opening his blackened mouth to breathe death on her. Conner's eyes re-opened fast, scanning the floor by her bed as she mentally scolded herself. She was 22, For Gods' sake! Why was she so scared of ghosts?! These were just in her head. It was the real ones you had to worry about, and she was pretty sure they were still safe here.

Despite her reassurances and logical thought, Conner slid her slippers on and shuffled across the hall to her sister's room and knocked twice before carefully opening the door. "Adi? Are you awake?" She glanced around the pitch black room, eyes adjusting to find the vague shape of a bed. A sudden spark and flame lit her sister's nearly identical face which currently wore a smirk. "Sup?" Said the similar woman, Smudge to most, as she pat the bed beside her and reached for her lamp.

Conner sighed and shut the door behind her, climbing onto the bed to sit cross-legged next to her lounging sister. "I had the dream again..." Conner admitted after a few moments of awkward silence.

Smudge simply raised an eyebrow. "Dream? What dream?" she watched her sister warily. Conner wasn't one to get scared and then ask for help.

Conner's lips drew into a thin line. "I keep seeing Ben. He's calling to me but....he's dead in the dream. Just a corpse..."

A slow horror drew over Smudge's previously calm face. Her mouth opened but nothing really came out, so she closed it after a while. The color was gone from her face. "...How long?" she whispered.

Conner held her eyes open, fixed on the end of the bed. "A week."

The heavy silence that fell between them was deafening. Half an hour passed before either of them looked up from the end of the bed, as though they both expected Benedict to pop his joyful face out from underneath the bed like he would years ago.

"Should we go see Paxton tomorrow?" Smudge suggested. Another silence followed the slight nod from Conner. Finally, Conner spoke again. "Mind if I sleep here?" Smudge shrugged and slumped fully under her covers.

"Fine by me. Just hit the light."

Both lay there, facing opposite walls unable to sleep but pretending to do so for their sister.


	4. Up To Something

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> more William blurbs because I like pranks 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Special thanks to G Dailey for helping me work this out (we rp a lot lol).

Eva flipped channels, lazing on the Vaughn's living room sofa. Kai had gone to the store just a few minutes ago for snacks but she was already bored. William came in and sat in a nearby armchair, facing her, elbows resting on his knees as his clasped hands covered his mouth. Eva glanced at him and continued flipping channels with the comment "I'm not asking a question. I know what that does."

The lawyer smirked. "Right. I need your help. You're a very good driver and I have a very good plan."

Eva sat up, eyebrows raised at him. "Alright then."

William led her out back to a hastily built shed. "I've been saving these. Not all of them are legal but they're very fun. Help me load them and that hunk of metal into a truck and we'll get going." He opened the shed to reveal boxes of fireworks, most of which were far too large for Texas laws.

"William!" Eva laughed. "This is absurd! And there are more than a few illegal ones."

William took one of the boxes, smirking. "yeah I know. It helps when your boss is in law enforcement. Now, we'll need 3 more boxes. You have a truck picked out? " Eva held up keys. "Really, William. It's like you don't even know me." She winked and picked up another box. They loaded the boxes and the metal that looked oddly like a plane into the truck bed and climbed in, William in the passenger's side and Eva at the wheel.

"Alright GPS." Eva said with a glance at William, the engine's roar of life almost drowning her out.

"Just drive straight out of town. And we need to stop for some water bottles."

One water stop later, the duo was thirty minutes outside of Austin and setting up the metal. "Eva, spread the water on the  all the grass surrounding the road. Burn ban."

Eva shrugged. " I assume you have a good reason for all of this. Like a plan or something that resembles prior thought." 

William tied the fireworks' chords together in a manner that would give them enough time to get out of the blast zone. "Possibly? I have it on good word that an airforce admiral is back home for a visit and isn't expecting any navy test flights over his city. I figured the FBI would have been investigating this for a while now. You all done?"

Eva threw the last empty bottle into the cab. "Finito. Want me to light it?" She held up a zippo lighter, ready to start shit.

"You start the getaway car, allow me. " He took the lighter and flicked it open as the truck roared back to life. The fire lit, William ducked into the passenger seat.  "Go! Go! Go!"

The tires squealed off in a manic fashion as Eva sped them towards downtown and a particular hotel. William slipped on his suit jacket, tucked in his shirt and straightened his tie. Pulling some sunglasses from his suit pocket, he asked Eva for a fake FBI I.D. which she gladly provided."Wait here."

"Wait here." William popped out of the truck and into the hotel lobby, blazing passed a very confused bellboy. "Um, sir? Are you staying with us?"

William smiled. "Don't worry about me. I checked in earlier." the elevator dinged announcing its arrival. William waved and stepped inside, pressing the penthouse button. Upon his arrival, William was greeted by two armed officers to which he flashed his FBI badge. "I need to speak with Admiral Spine." he demanded.

"We're under specific orders." One of them said shortly. William turned cooly to the guard that spoke.

"This is a matter of security, which I would hope you would understand."He pushed passed them to the front door which he swung open easily.

Inside was Admiral Spine, nude with a beautiful paid woman on his lap. William started to speak but held his ID over his eyes, "Aaaah!" Sir, please put on some pants!"

Spine looked livid. "what the hell are you doing in here?! Get out!!"

"Sir, If you would just put on some pants we could have a civil conversation about my business here."

The Admiral pushed his lady friend off his lap and grumbled while pulling on his boxers. "This had better be DAMN important or I'll have your fucking head!" He threatened.

"Sir, if you would just look out your window you would understand the urgency." William encouraged, lowering his badge only after making his way to the window across the room and pulling back the curtain slightly.

"The hell is that?!" Spine asked in shock as the mysterious rocket he had built flew just out of sight.

"That's what I came here to ask, sir did you order an experimental launch? Was this an airforce launch?"

Spine looked confused and furious. "Of course not! Why would we?! Who authorized this?!"

"That's what I'm here to figure out. Sir, if you would contact my supervisor of anything you discover it would be of enormous help to the bureau." William left to angry phone dialing and a forgetful admiral that didn't ask who his supervisor was.

The truck door opened suddenly as William slid smoothly into his place.

"Pardon the question but How'd it go?" Eva watched William's calm face formed a mischievous smile. "We don't really know what happened, do we? I mean, it could have been the navy or the air force that launched that UFO, couldn't it?" They laughed after a moment, driving back towards the Vaughn house.

 


	5. The Stump in the Yard

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A moment of sadness and reflection after a death. Author recommends listening to EL MANANA by the Gorillaz.
> 
>  
> 
> Suicide warning on this one!

There's a charred stump in the back of the Mueller household with rocks carefully placed around it. A small fountain bubbled near it surrounded by a carefully planned flower garden. No plaque or cross adorned the site, but the atmosphere was solemn all the same. The grass was rarely trodden by anyone, except to upkeep the site. Some toys had been left on the stump but were dirty from age and exposure. A stone bench looked upon this scene a foot away, where a young woman sat in an 18th-century dress.

There were no tears, no hiccups or sobs, just silent staring. Behind her, the black-clad mourners, Vaughns and Muellers alike. One stood apart from the crowd, though not looking much different in his usual black suit, tie, and shades. He approached the bench.

"Hey. Mind if I join you?" He asked. 

Conner shrugged awkwardly.

"the service was beautiful." He tried. Despite his efforts, William had never been good with the loss of its victims. "Her favorite flowers, right? Those Foresythia were nice."

Again, Conner shrugged. " Suppose." She mumbled. In her lap, she wrung her hands. William had been told she refused to wear black. Smudge wouldn't have wanted everyone wearing black and crying.

"You know it's ok to be-" William was cut off by a glare from Conner.

"Don't. I know what you're going to say and it is not ok." Her glare could have melted straight through the earth if she glanced down. The fire and rage that was usually behind her eyes were now white hot coals. "It is not ok that this happened while I was gone. It is not ok that I wasn't here for my family. And it is _definitely not o.k. to be sad._ " She blinked rapidly, fighting back the tears. William was shocked. He knew she was passionate but she'd never shown this side of herself to him. She'd always been afraid. But suddenly she had everything to lose. Here, in front of her long-dead brother's grave, she was trying not to slip as her own steady ground had left.

William took off his sunglasses and cleaned the lenses with his shirt. "You know why I wear these?" Conner snorted. 

"Because you work for The Man In Black."

"No." Conner looked up, a little surprised. "Well, yes. But it's mostly so people won't see my eyes. I'm a pretty emotional dude, and the eyes can give all that away. So if I'm in an emotional state..." He trailed off, replacing the shades on his face. Conner looked up at the taller man, contemplating. Without a word, she left and went to join the rest of the family. William hoped he'd helped, but only time would tell.

\-------------------------------------------------------

The dinner went on, people offering condolences to herself and her parents. Conner held it together, mostly. Once, she made eye contact with Eva, but all they shared was an acknowledging nod before Eva downed the contents of her flask. Kai had this solemn look on his young, puppy-like face. It was one of misunderstanding, as though he wasn't clear on why Smudge would do that? Why wouldn't she ask for help? Conner knew, and she couldn't bring herself to tell Kai. Not now.

That's when Uncle Jimmy came up. He'd been exchanging words with her father for a long while, serious expressions and occasional glances in Conner's direction. She dreaded the upcoming talk, but not for the usual reasons.

When Uncle Jimmy approached her, she stiffened as usual. He sighed as usual. Their eyes met, and Conner ran into his arms. She hugged him tightly and let out a sob. He was surprised at first but hugged her close. "It's ok." He muttered. "I forgive you." Conner cried even harder, tears staining Jimmy's suit jacket. He didn't care right now. Harry came and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, hugging his wife Lydia close.


	6. Stump in the Yard (alternative)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An alternate version of Stump in The Yard, with some added story from a recent game's events.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As with the original, there is a Suicide warning on this story!

There's a charred stump in the back of the Mueller household with rocks carefully placed around it. A small fountain bubbled near it surrounded by a carefully planned flower garden. No plaque or cross adorned the site, but the atmosphere was solemn all the same. The grass was rarely trodden by anyone, except to upkeep the site. Some toys had been left on the stump but were dirty from age and exposure. A stone bench looked upon this scene a foot away, where a young woman sat in an 18th-century dress.

Conner sat in silence, as a small throng of family and friends milled about, helping with household things and being the emotional support to all. But they were near t

"Hey. Mind if I join you?" He asked. 

Conner shrugged awkwardly.

"This is a lot to take in, eh kid?" He tried. Despite his efforts, William had never been good with social support or, for that matter, interaction. "Her favorite flowers, right? Those Forsythia were nice."

Again, Conner shrugged. " Suppose." She mumbled. In her lap, she wrung her hands. After the recent battle with Peter, Conner had been pretty badly injured. It had sent her further into shock when she woke up in the room reserved for the wounded next to her sister. Smudge had a distinct bruise on her neck the shape and size of rope that their dad kept around, and was breathing softly through the healing spells. Conner hadn't left her room in a few days, dealing with the pure shock and emotions from the last two weeks.

"You know it's ok to be-" William was cut off by a glare from Conner.

"Don't. I know what you're going to say and it is not ok." Her glare could have melted straight through the earth if she glanced down. The fire and rage that was usually behind her eyes were now white hot coals. "It is not ok that this happened while I was gone. It is not ok that I wasn't here for my family. And it is _definitely not o.k. to be sad._ " She blinked rapidly, fighting back the tears. William was shocked. He knew she was passionate but she'd never shown this side of herself to him. She'd always been afraid. But suddenly she had everything to lose. Here, in front of her long-dead brother's grave, she was trying not to slip as her own steady ground had left.

William took off his sunglasses and cleaned the lenses with his shirt. "You know why I wear these?" Conner snorted. 

"Because you work for The Man In Black."

"No." Conner looked up, a little surprised. "Well, yes. But it's mostly so people won't see my eyes. I'm a pretty emotional dude, and the eyes can give all that away. So if I'm in an emotional state..." He trailed off, replacing the shades on his face. Conner looked up at the taller man, contemplating.

After a prolonged silence between the two, Conner spoke up. "William, could you help me with something? I need it to remain a secret..."

\-------------------------------------------------------

Dinner was a solemn occasion. Conner had seen Ren in passing but was avoiding him; she didn't have much to say to him for pulling her out of the fight except thank you over and over, and things were already awkward between them. Eva hadn't been seen in days, and Kai had this solemn look on his young, puppy-like face. It was one of misunderstanding, as though he wasn't clear on why Smudge would do that? Why wouldn't she ask for help? Conner knew, and she couldn't bring herself to tell Kai. Not now.

That's when Uncle Jimmy came up. He'd been exchanging words with her father for a long while, serious expressions and occasional glances in Conner's direction. She dreaded the upcoming talk, but not for the usual reasons.

When Uncle Jimmy approached her, she stiffened as usual. He sighed as usual. Their eyes met, and Conner ran into his arms. She hugged him tightly and let out a sob. He was surprised at first but hugged her close. "It's ok." He muttered. "I forgive you." Conner cried even harder, tears staining Jimmy's suit jacket. He didn't care right now. Harry came and put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, hugging his wife Lydia close.

Conner left shortly after this encounter, sitting on her bed and trying to compose herself when a knock came on her door.

"Come in." She said, sniffling in all of her emotions and composing herself. She was unsurprised when William came in carrying a beat up suitcase.

"Right. I suppose we should get to business then." William said, snapping open the briefcase to reveal the lawyer's supplies for writing a Will.


End file.
